This invention is directed to a roller tray with hinged cover wherein the cover can swing to the closed position to seal on the tray to maintain material in the tray in fresh condition and wherein the tray is a full rectangular receptacle for maximum paint volume.
Paint roller trays are well-known. Such trays have sides and bottoms, with a reservoir in a portion of the bottom and a further portion of the bottom being sloped so that a paint roller can be dipped in the paint in the reservoir and rolled out on the sloped bottom. Rollers for such purposes are also well-known. In addition, conventional paint brushes are sometimes used with such a paint roller tray, with the brushes usually used for edging and filling deeper cracks and holes. Such a paint tray may also be used with other paint applying devices such as paint pads.
These conventional paint roller trays and associated implements are used by pouring paint in the tray and employing the various implements to remove the paint from the tray and apply it to the surface being painted. The reduced volume provided by the sloped bottom produces delays and intertupted production. Quite often the job is interrupted before the painting is completed. Even a lunch break causes stiffening of most paints to the point where the paint roller tray and the painting implements must be cleaned. Such is definitely true for any paint on an overnight break in the painting operation. The cleaning of the paint roller tray and the painting implements is both time-consuming and wasteful of paint. A considerable amount of time is necessary to properly return the paint from the paint roller tray back into the paint can, and, thereupon, clean the remaining paint from the paint roller tray. Some residual paint can usually be recovered from a roller and returned to the paint can, but little paint can be recovered from a painting pad or a paint brush. Therefore, that which remains must be washed out. Furthermore, there is the cost of the solvent employed in the cleaning. Thus, there is a need for a roller tray which will preserve solvent-containing material therein over a short time to avoid the need for cleaning the tray from one shift to the next.